James Baldwin:
Artist as Activist and The Robert Kennedy/ James Baldwin Secret Summit circa 1963
Featuring New York Audelco Award Nominee,
CHARLES REESE*
Cultural architect for public engagement, educator, and performance artist, Charles Reese brings famed American writer and civil rights activist, James Baldwin to life at this literary reading performance and lecture salon. Mr. Reese will perform selected excerpts from the book version of the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway play, James Baldwin: A Soul on Fire by the late playwright, Howard B. Simon (1962-2000). The literary salon experience will include rare archival video footage from the Off-Broadway play along with traditional call and response songs from the movement led by Reese. This literary salon salutes the 50th anniversary of the roundtable conversation on race relations between Robert Kennedy and James Baldwin (the premise of the play-book, edited by Reese). This “lesser known” historical secret meeting was attended by Harry Belafonte, Lorraine Hansberry, Lena Horne, Dr. Kenneth Clark, a young freedom rider named Jerome Smith and others. This inter-active blend of literary art, education and discourse is a feast for the soul and the senses. Q&A and book signing immediately follows.
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*Charles Reese appears courtesy of SAG-AFTRA & AEA
(Professional Film, Television & Theatre Unions, Member of
AFL-CIO)
This literary salon was originally presented by 651 ARTS at the Kumble Theater for the Performing Arts Center @ LIU, Brooklyn, New York as a part of the program series, MOVEMENT ’63: Reflect, Renew & Remix. www.651ARTS.org.